Parents must act on online safety advice
Sunday, 10 October 2004
Industry research shows lack of parental action
to improve children’s online safety
Only eight per cent of parents with children aged five to
fifteen have implemented five of the most simple and
important child safety guidelines
A survey conducted by ICM Research (ICM) on behalf of the Internet Services Providers’ Association (ISPA) – the UK’s leading Internet trade association – has aroused concern that many parents are not acting on safety advice to help to protect their children on the Internet.
The study considered parents with children between five and fifteen and Internet access at home.
Jessica Hendrie-Liaño, the Chair of the ISPA Council, said, “Protecting children on the Internet must be a joint effort between the Internet industry, the Government and its agencies and parents. Many ISPs offer online safety features such as web and spam filters and parents should take advantage of these facilities.”
Mrs Hendrie-Liaño continued, “Although there is a great deal of awareness about online safety hazards in the UK, this research highlights a worrying lack of action by many parents to help children have a safer online experience. Only eight per cent of parents with children aged five to fifteen have implemented five of the most simple and important child safety guidelines. Parents should ensure that their children use the Internet in a communal room, offer their children regular reminders of online safety rules, know who their children are talking to online, surf the ‘net with their children and ensure that the computer their children use to access the Internet has functioning online safety software.”
Children should use the Internet in a communal area of the home
Nearly two out of five (38 per cent) parents allow their children to use the Internet in a private room.
The study showed that parents who ensure that their children use the Internet in a communal room, such as the lounge, most frequently offer Internet safety advice to children.
Mrs Hendrie-Liaño said, “Not only is it easier to offer children safety advice more frequently, by keeping the computer in a communal area it is also much easier to monitor what your children are viewing online.”
Parents should regularly remind children of online safety rules
Only two fifths of parents (41 per cent) give regular reminders to their children about online safety rules.*
Nearly one third of parents (28 per cent) have never spoken to their child about giving out personal information such as their home address, telephone numbers or passwords on the Internet.
Mrs Hendrie-Liaño recommended, “Parents should offer their children regular reminders of online safety rules. In particular, children should be taught not to give out personal information such as their home address, school, telephone numbers or passwords on the Internet. Although the vast majority of Internet users are honest in their intentions, children in particular must understand that people on the Internet may not always be who they say they are.”
Parents should know who their child is talking to online
As many as one in eight parents (13 per cent) do not know if their child uses chat rooms. Of the 26 per cent of parents who know that their children do use chat rooms, 65 per cent admit to not knowing their children's online friends.
ISPA recommends that parents should talk to their children about chat rooms. It is important that they talk to their children about who they are meeting online, and ensure that children are wary of strangers.
Mrs Hendrie-Liaño said, “If children are chatting online, parents should make sure they are only visiting moderated chat rooms. Even then, they should know who their online friends are, just as they would know their child’s friends in the offline world.”
Parents should go online with their children
Although 63 per cent of parents frequently use the Internet with their children at home**, nearly one in four (23 per cent) parents have never used the Internet with their child.
Surfing can be a family activity. ISPA urges parents to use the Internet together with their child, talk about what the child likes and discuss any problems that might be encountered.
Mrs Hendrie-Liaño said, “Parents must remember that just like the offline world, the online world has its hazards. Parents should empower themselves to set their children’s boundaries. Just as parents look out for quality TV programmes for children, they should also take the time to find the best and most useful sites for them and their family.”
Family computers should have functioning safety software
ISPA recommends that parents should explore the safety services and software available from their ISP and should consider these features when selecting their ISP.
One third of parents (32 per cent) have not enabled basic safety features such as web and spam filtering solutions.
Of the 68 per cent of parents that have enabled such safety features, one in eight of them do not know if they have done so correctly. ISPA created one of the world’s first codes of practice for providers of Internet services. UK ISPs created one of the earliest self-regulatory ‘notice and takedown’ procedures in the world, whereby ISPs can remove unlawful content when they have knowledge that it is present on their system.
Mrs Hendrie-Liaño said, “Online safety software can help to protect your children and your computer. However, no amount of software can replace parental supervision. Children must also be taught not to open emails and attachments or download files from strangers.”
UK kids far from Internet addicts
Parents are noticing that children are only online for an average of four hours 35 minutes per week. Only one in eight children are on the Internet for more than ten hours per week. This is a good indicator that children are keeping up their other interests.
Mrs Hendrie-Liaño said, “It’s hard to dispute that the Internet offers a great resource to help children learn, create and connect with other children worldwide. Families generally realise the enormous educational and social benefits of the Internet.”
The UK is currently leading the world in the development of a safer Internet
The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) was the first organisation in the world created to address illegal online content - it was established and is funded by the UK Internet industry. Less than one per cent of the illegal content the IWF is notified about is hosted on the UK Internet. The majority of such content is hosted in Eastern Europe and the USA.
ISPA has also worked with the Government to create the world’s first guidelines for providers of chat services.
The Home Office Task Force for Child Protection on the Internet is a joint initiative between the Internet industry, the Government, the Police and children’s charities. ISPA has contributed to the ongoing success of the thinkuknow.co.uk website and the ‘Keep Your Child Safe on the Internet’ leaflet campaign.
Mrs Hendrie-Liaño concluded, “Children’s safety online should be a shared responsibility between the Internet industry, Government and parents. Without the involvement and action of parents and carers, much of the Government’s and Internet industry’s efforts are squandered. This research underlines the fact that parents must act on Internet safety advice to offer their children a safer online experience.”
- ends -
The views expressed in this release are those of the Internet Services Providers' Association (ISPA UK) and do not necessarily reflect the corporate policies of the individual companies that are members of the Association or other organizations that may be mentioned in the release.
*For the purpose of this news release, “regular reminders” are those given to children more than once per month.
** For the purpose of this news release, “frequent use of the internet with the child” is considered to be more than once per month.
For further information, please contact the ISPA Press Office. Email: pressoffice@ispa.org.uk Tel: 020 7340 4535
About the Internet Services Providers’ Association
The Internet Services Providers’ Association (ISPA) was established in 1995 as a trade association to represent providers of Internet services in the UK. ISPA promotes competition, self-regulation and the development of the Internet industry. For a list of members or other information about ISPA, please consult the website: www.ispa.org.uk